AusBonsai

Not having an unlimited budget I was planning on getting a set of these cheap eBay tools. My expectation of quality is very low but I was thinking some of the tools (brush, rake, root hook etc) don’t need to be high quality and it will also provide the case for tools that I could slowly replace for better quality ones in the future. Anyone bought these before? After reading a lot of old posts here, it would seem Kaneshin tools are held in high regard and reasonably priced, so my second thought was maybe grab Kaneshin Shears, Wire Cutter and Concave Cutter and then a cheaper rake tweezers etc. is it fair to assume you don’t need to have high quality Kaneshin Rakes or Root Hooks etc. but it makes more sense to buy the high quality Cutters?

Thanks in advance.

Yep, makes sense!
Kaneshin scissors and branch cutter (or other quality brand if you prefer) are the crux of your tool set so I say don't skimp on those. The rest... well, I like to complete a set so I bought Kaneshin but you could easily use standard pliers and side cutters etc... No reason not to give them a go anyway, if you find you keep breaking/bending/destroying the cheaper stuff then when it comes time to upgrade maybe go for a better quality. I can recommend Kaneshin - I like them a lot.

you don't *need* a rake or root hook if you have some spare forks and a pair of pliers...

Ryceman3 wrote:Yep, makes sense!
Kaneshin scissors and branch cutter (or other quality brand if you prefer) are the crux of your tool set so I say don't skimp on those. The rest... well, I like to complete a set so I bought Kaneshin but you could easily use standard pliers and side cutters etc... No reason not to give them a go anyway, if you find you keep breaking/bending/destroying the cheaper stuff then when it comes time to upgrade maybe go for a better quality. I can recommend Kaneshin - I like them a lot.

Yeah cool I figured as much. Thanks for confirming.

melbrackstone wrote:you don't *need* a rake or root hook if you have some spare forks and a pair of pliers...

I’ve never used either but common sense told me those tools might be less important especially when it comes quality of the steel. Thanks for confirming!

Cheers
Dan

At $64 I think it would probably be worth getting that set.
There are some tools in it that you won't use very often so quality should not be an issue.
I use that style of root hook (single tine) all the time and it should work fine even if the steel is not tool grade. A bent rod will do just as well.
If you keep the scissors, shears and root shears sharp they should also be serviceable for quite a few years. Branch cutters are my key tool. If/when the ones in your set are not performing well you can replace them with a quality pair and gradually replace the shears and scissors as you find the need.

shibui wrote:At $64 I think it would probably be worth getting that set.
There are some tools in it that you won't use very often so quality should not be an issue.
I use that style of root hook (single tine) all the time and it should work fine even if the steel is not tool grade. A bent rod will do just as well.
If you keep the scissors, shears and root shears sharp they should also be serviceable for quite a few years. Branch cutters are my key tool. If/when the ones in your set are not performing well you can replace them with a quality pair and gradually replace the shears and scissors as you find the need.

Thanks Shibui, that made up my mind!

Mate I bought one of these sets for a Christmas present for myself and agree with Shibui .
They aren’t the greatest quality (obviously) but they’ll give you a good idea of what you need/use the most/ personally like.
As Shibui said I’ll be replacing my preferred/ most used tools with quality as need be.
In saying all that I’ve got a cheap 170mm branch cutter and a small set of long handled shears that I’ve been using for about 4 years and they’re still going strong.
Just my

Thanks DocPep, just pulled the trigger on that set so we’ll see how we go...

Now to source soil supplies...